Another candidate has filed for the Nov. 4 election for the District 3 seat on the Warren County Public Schools Board of Education.

Andrew McMichael of Warren County, an associate professor of history and an assistant dean at Western Kentucky University, will run for the District 3 seat held by board Vice Chairman Mike Wilson. Wilson is not running for re-election. He is a candidate for the Third District magisterial seat on Warren County Fiscal Court.

The school board seat is a four-year term.

The District 3 seat encompasses Plano Elementary, Rich Pond Elementary, portions of William Natcher Elementary, Lost River Elementary, Drakes Creek Middle, Henry F. Moss Middle, South Warren Middle, South Warren High, Greenwood High and Warren Central High school attendance areas.

McMichael said he’s interested in serving on the school board in light of the dispute between the county district and the Bowling Green Independent School District over the nonresident student contract. The dispute began April 19, 2013, and has included two rounds of hearings in Bowling Green before Lexington attorney Mike Wilson.

“What got me interested in the race was the negotiations between the districts,” McMichael said. “The county should negotiate. (The dispute) is now harming the county district.” 

The county district has appealed an order by Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday setting the number of nonresident students permitted by the county at 750 for the 2014-15 school year. The appeal is now before the Kentucky State Board of Education. 

Once in receipt of an appeal notice from the county district, the Kentucky Board of Education will have 60 days to approve or amend the decision of the commissioner pursuant to KRS 157.350(4)(d), Nancy Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education, said Monday.

Prior to making a decision, the KBE will allow the parties to file briefs in support of their respective positions, Rodriguez said. 

McMichael said the dispute is an issue in the school board campaign.

“While I fully support the Board’s initial attempts to negotiate the best deal for the parents and children of the county, this situation has become a waste of time and resources for both the county and the city, and has cast us in a negative light. It is time to move on, and to re-focus our energy on doing what’s right for all taxpayers in this district,” McMichael stated in a release. “A board meeting must be a place where the board is willing to engage citizens, listen to their views, and respond. The public must be free to speak, regardless of their feelings on an issue.”

McMichael began working in public education in the northern Virginia K-12 schools in the 1990s. He is assistant dean of the Potter College of Arts and Letters at WKU.

McMichael said through his position at WKU, he makes dozens of visits to elementary schools in the central and western part of the state, including in Warren County. He helps teachers with lessons on Colonial America, the Civil War and World War II, among other areas, the release stated.

McMichael graduated from George Mason University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1993 and a Master of Arts degree in 1996. He earned a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in 2000 and arrived at WKU in 2002. During his time in Northern Virginia, he taught as a substitute and a full-time teacher in grades ranging from kindergarten through eleventh grade.

“When I am on the board, I will dedicate myself to what works best for all the children of Warren County. Board meetings will be places for the public to speak freely and know that we are hearing their concerns,” McMichael said in his release.

McMichael lives in Warren County with his wife, Lee, and his three children, John Ryan, Brendan and Adam.

Amy Duvall of Bowling Green filed earlier for the District 3 school board seat. Both she and McMichael attended last week’s county school board meeting.

County schools board Chairman Kerry Young has filed for re-election for District 5.

District 5 is comprised of the Richardsville Elementary, Bristow Elementary, portions of Warren East Middle, Henry F. Moss Middle, Warren East High and Warren Central High attendance areas.

— Follow education reporter Chuck Mason on Twitter at twitter.com/bgdnschools or visit bgdailynews.com.